Time Travel: The Queen's Coronation

During a break from get out of class, I opened my phone and saw a pop-up notification. I pulled it down and saw it was an email from my email. Curious, I opened it and found an internship offer from Zero Group. They invited me to intern at their US headquarters during the summer break. Travel expenses would be reimbursed, and accommodation would be subsidized. I hesitated at first sight, as I'd never been abroad before and was naturally apprehensive about unfamiliar environments.

"Have you received the internship notice from Zero?" When I was hesitating, Liang Yan sent me a message.

"received"

"are you going"

"And you"

"Go, this is a rare opportunity, and it's an internship at the headquarters. Others are only internships at domestic branches. We have the opportunity at the headquarters, so we have to go even more."

“Other people’s are domestic?”

"Yes, there are only two of us interning at the headquarters."

"That's it"

"You don't want to go, do you?"

“To be honest, I’m hesitant.”

"Why hesitate? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

“America is too far away”

"You won't be reluctant to part with Rong Zixuan, will you?"

"How come you always bring him into everything?"

"Then why hesitate? Zero is a giant in the industry. Who among us computer science students wouldn't want to go there?"

"But in a foreign country, I really need to think about it."

"It's only two months. I'm not asking you to stay there forever."

“I still have to think about it.”

"Okay, think about it and tell me."

"Uh-huh"

After finishing my chat with Liang Yan, I was about to look for Rong Zixuan, but unfortunately, class had already started. I was distracted throughout the entire class, barely absorbing much of what was being said. My thoughts were preoccupied with whether or not I should go to the United States. Finally, get out of class ended, and Rong Zixuan and I left the classroom together.

"Zixuan, let's go out for a walk."

"OK"

Along the way, I was worried, and Rong Zixuan could see that I was worried.

"Aqing, what's wrong with you? Why are you so depressed?"

“I received an internship notice from Zero”

"This is good, why are you still unhappy?"

“But it’s going to the US headquarters.”

"Did you agree?" Rong Zixuan asked tentatively in a low voice.

“I haven’t responded yet, I’m still thinking about it.”

"So do you really want to go?"

"I want to go but I don't want to go. I want to go because it's a rare opportunity, but I don't want to go because I'm afraid of going to such an unfamiliar environment."

"It's okay, I'll go with you."

“But going abroad also costs a lot of money.”

"It's okay, I can still make ends meet with this little money. I can find a job in a shop over there."

"You're a college student, going to work there? What a waste!"

"Then why don't I just find a company to intern at?"

"Hey, I can try to negotiate with them to give you a chance to intern. I'll send them the system you made and see, maybe you can do it too."

"Is it okay? I didn't participate in their competition."

"You have to give it a try. Foreigners don't follow so many rules and regulations."

"Okay, I hope to get good news so that we can go to the United States together," Rong Zixuan smiled and hugged me.

Back in the dorm, I turned on my computer and replied to an email in English. The general content was to thank them for the opportunity, explain my situation and concerns, and introduce Rong Zixuan. I asked them to give him a chance to intern, saying that his ability was comparable to Liang Yan's, but he hadn't competed in the previous sports meet. I also attached the system code Rong Zixuan had created.

After three days of waiting, I finally received a reply. They said they had reviewed Rong Zixuan's system and thought it was indeed good. They were willing to give him an interview opportunity. The interview would be held at 3 pm next Friday. I happily told Rong Zixuan the news, and he agreed to the interview.

"Have you made up your mind?" Liang Yan continued to ask for my answer.

"not yet"

"You haven't decided yet. That's not like you."

"I want to know Rong Zixuan's result before making a decision."

"Rong Zixuan? What's the result?"

"I sent an email to Zero, asking them to give Rong Zixuan a chance, and also sent them the system he had developed. Zero gave him an internship interview opportunity."

"Is this still possible?"

"Yeah, how do you know if it works if you don't try?"

"Okay, then tell me when the results come out. I've contacted a senior brother in the United States and asked him to help keep an eye out for houses in the United States. If you have any results, I'll ask him to help us rent a house."

"okay"

After careful preparation, Rong Zixuan's excellent performance impressed the interviewer and earned him an internship opportunity in the U.S. Liang Yan also contacted a senior student to help us rent an apartment together, so the rent would be much less stressful if we shared it among the three of us.

I finally felt relieved. I told my parents the news, and they were supportive. Over the next few days, I started following American news, hoping to learn more about the country so I could live more easily and avoid any embarrassing moments or misunderstandings.

I also began acclimating to the English-speaking environment. My conversations with my three roommates, Rong Zixuan, and Liang Yan were all in English. Everyone who gets into Jinghua speaks English well, so we had no problem communicating. Having prepared so much ahead of time, I was increasingly excited about my internship, a stark contrast to my initial apprehension.

Liang Yan asked Rongzi and I to form a group, and the group name was Zero Internship Group.

"It's not enough for us to just chat in English, we have to test our level," Liang Yan said the first sentence.

"How to test?" I followed closely.

"Let's take the TOEFL test sometime."

When can I take the TOEFL?

“Every month is fine”

"Okay, are you going to study in the United States in the future? I see that you seem to be very familiar with the TOEFL process."

“Yes, I want to apply to Stanford in the future.”

"Amazing"

“You can apply too.”

"When you mention this, it makes me a little excited."

"Aqing, if you want to report that, I'll report it with you," Rong Zixuan suddenly interrupted.

"I don't know yet, but when I was little I dreamed of going to Harvard, hahahahaha"

"Your grades are good."

“But studying abroad costs a lot of money.”

"You can apply for a scholarship. With your ability, this shouldn't be a problem."

"Don't praise me too much, I'll get carried away"

"I'm just telling the truth"

“Harvard might be a little difficult, but I can apply to other schools.”

"I say, Rong Zixuan, do you have to cling to Wei Qing? Wherever she goes, you cling to her like a dog-skin plaster."

"She's my girlfriend, I go wherever she goes, is that a problem?"

"That's the problem. You clearly had no intention of studying abroad. You only said yes after I brought it up. You're such a clueless person."

"What's wrong with not having your own opinion? It's still better than being single. You're always pestering my Ah Qing. What do you want to do?"

……

Men's desire to win is really scary. When I went to the bathroom, the two of them started arguing in the group chat. I later forcibly terminated their conversation, and the farce was finally put to an end.

Later, the three of us signed up for the TOEFL exam. Since our English was already pretty good, we all did pretty well. I got a perfect score, Liang Yan got 116, and Rong Zixuan scored a little worse, but still got 109.